Swan Lake omissions cast shadow over work of elegance

Reviewed by Jill Sykes

KNOWING the preparation, hard work and skill that go into staging a full-length ballet, and admiring the quality of dancing on Sydney's opening night, it saddens me to report that the Australian Ballet's new Swan Lake is disappointing as a piece of theatre.

Choreographer Stephen Baynes is responsible for all but the iconic sequences for the swans in act II and he has produced an enjoyable evening of graceful dance in the classical style. It has decorative appeal well balanced between neatly structured ensembles and solos and duets that are sensitive and elegant.

Dynamic duo … the strong partnership of Amber Scott and Adam Bull is among many notable performances in the Australian Ballet's new Swan Lake. Photo: Jeff Busby

In a program note, he declares he wanted to give more weight to Prince Siegfried's character and royal problems - and, to a degree, he has. But in the process, he has diminished the ballet's theatricality and variety.

Baynes's curious decision not to involve the evil Baron von Rothbart in the scenes with the swans rob them of drama and a visible reason for the predicament of Odette and the other young women trapped in swans' bodies. The absence of the evil manipulator is a serious loss. He makes an appearance in the ballroom scene, escorting the wicked Odile, who tricks the prince into pledging his love for her. He also tops and tails the production, accompanying the bodies of the prince's father and later the son on a swan barge, giving the story the different emphasis that Baynes was after, without adding to the drama.

The extended dance sequences in act I are all sweetness and light, in contrast with the Prince's melancholy - yet they come across as too much of a good thing, with the pushy girls a good idea that fails through repetition. Conversely, cuts to the ballroom scene of act III rob us of the colour and variety of the customary national dances.

In this visually unimpressive scene, the remaining couple of brightly costumed interventions are most welcome. Yet there is scarcely room for anyone to dance: designer Hugh Colman has dropped an ugly backcloth well forward in this narrow but reasonably deep stage.

On opening night, Amber Scott and Adam Bull were a strong partnership as Odette and the Prince, Olga Tamara memorable as the Prince's nurse and there were many notable performances by dancers including Ty King-Wall, Juliet Burnett, Robyn Hendricks and Brett Simon.

Tchaikovsky's music remains a driving force, with Nicolette Fraillon conducting the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.